A Warren County committee is trying to determine how to upgrade emergency communications.

Members of the Bowling Green-Warren County 800 MHZ Radio Committee this week listened to options available and how long those upgrades would be effective. The committee includes representatives from all agencies that respond to county emergencies.

The county must decide whether to use a stopgap solution for a few years or purchase a more permanent upgrade, said Malissa Carter, communications manager for the Bowling Green Police Department. The police department houses the dispatching center that answers all 911 calls in Warren County.

“We've got a good system, but it's getting old,” she said.

Warren County is using an analog communications system created in 1979 by Motorola, according to Keith Kimmerline, a representative from Motorola. Parts may not be available for the system after December 2008.

“I'm not saying it's going to stop working anytime soon after that,” he said. “We just can't guarantee parts for pieces that break down.”

The goal of the meeting was to provide the committee with options to “get the ball rolling,” said Kevin Yaden of Mobile Communication Systems.

“I don't think its a bad idea to look at doing a system over the entire (Barren River Area Development District) area,” Yaden said.

The Barren River area includes Warren, Allen, Barren, Butler, Simpson, Edmonson, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe and Hart counties.

Taking a regional approach would help the area receive federal grants for the system, Yaden said.

The difference between an analog system and a digital system is similar to the differences between a cassette and an iPod, Kimmerline said. Audio quality would be superior and receivers would be able to tell who was calling.

The digital system would be sold until 2025 and parts would be available for years after that, Kimmerline said.

Another option the county has - upgrading its current analog system - would be less expensive, but would just put off an upgrade again for five or six years, he said.

That analog system is no longer being formally sold by Motorola, Kimmerline said. A limited number of these systems is left, but the company would sell one to Bowling Green-Warren County if one is available.

Carter asked Motorola to come back to the committee with the cost of each potential upgrade.

“Let's face it, money is going to be an issue,” she said. “We may be stuck with spending money now to have to spend it again in two years.”

The committee was previously told it would cost about $8 million to convert to a full digital system, she said.

An updated analog system is just a Band-Aid for the county's current situation, Kimmerline said.

And though he didn't offer a price for the digital system, Kimmerline said they have recently become more affordable.

The cost could also be reduced by gradually shifting equipment in county agencies to digital, he said.

Nextel is working toward purchasing some bands from current channels used for emergency communications. The sale of those channels would help the county purchase new equipment.

The money from rebanding will allow the county to purchase about 100 new radios; county agencies use about 1,000, said Brian Lowry, a committee member from Warren County Emergency Management.

“It will help a little bit, but it's not going to be our saving grace,” he said.

The county is planning to negotiate the bands sale, but Nextel has recommended hiring an attorney to help the county with the technical aspects of the deal, Lowry said.